AOW - Should I get it?

[galvanni]

I'm novice - going on a trip to Bonaire for a week with a group in a few months. I have the option to do AOW there and have some questions.

1) Should I consider it or get more experience there and then maybe next time?

2) From what I can see - there really is no academic part. I guess you just buy the Adventures in Diving manual and do the dives - is that correct?

 

[tracydr]

I'm novice - going on a trip to Bonaire for a week with a group in a few months. I have the option to do AOW there and have some questions.

1) Should I consider it or get more experience there and then maybe next time?

2) From what I can see - there really is no academic part. I guess you just buy the Adventures in Diving manual and do the dives - is that correct?

You need to read the manual and fill out all the questions.
There are many places that require AOW cert. You'll love Bonaire and doing the class will basically give you a bunch of well guided dives with a chance to learn new skills. Make sure you do navigation, night and deep dive!

 

[pnw_diver]

Make sure you do navigation, night and deep dive!

If I'm not mistaken, for PADI navigation and deep are requirements for AOW. I also recommend night.

Like many of the speciality courses, there's not a lot of classroom work for AOW - although I would imagine that this varies by instructor. My experience for AOW and PADI specialties is that you're expected to self-study and do the knowledge review. There's then a short classroom session where the instructor reviews the material and knowledge reviews and then administers a written test (there is no test for some specialties).

As to whether or not you should do your AOW cert in Bonaire - you might consider doing it before you go. I did my AOW in Mexico and wished that I had done it at home - I would have preferred the 5 dives that I did as adventure dives to have been just fun dives as I was on vacation. Just a thought.

IMO, you don't need a lot of experience to do AOW. Just don't kid yourself into thinking that being AOW certified makes you an "advanced" diver - it gives you a bit more training, but nothing is a substitute for experience.

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you'll have a blast in Bonaire. I'm jealous.

 

[galvanni]

Is the $120 price tag worth it for AOW using PADI e-Learning or is that a bit steep for the online training? I'm guessing buying the book alone would be cheaper.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Is the $120 price tag worth it for AOW using PADI e-Learning or is that a bit steep for the online training? I'm guessing buying the book alone would be cheaper.

Please clarify what your $120 buys.
If it pays for the instructor-led 5 adventure dives, then I'd say that's a pretty good price (assuming that the instructor is good).
If it only pays for the online training (not the training dives), then I'd say that's ridiculously expensive. Buy the book on your own and fill out the appropriate Knowledge Reviews. The book is a nice reference. It contains some info on all of the PADI specialty classes.

Bonaire diving is fun and easy; you certainly won't need AOW certification to enjoy yourself. Just go and have a great vacation. That's not to say that, with a good instructor, the AOW class would not be a worthwhile learning experience.
Do you know who the instructor is going to be?
Have you heard good things about him/her?

 

[galvanni]

No, the PADI e-Learning is just what I guess is the equivalent of the book - only in nice multimedia format with video. I did my OW with PADI e-Learning and the LDS made me basically re-take the written test anyway - which was fine by me. I believe just like the OW e-Learning - it gets you just whatever academic material is needed to study. The rest of it is all extra I guess and will be dependent on the LDS.

Also - I kind of figured you didn't need AOW for Bonaire - but thought it would probably be one of the easiest places to do it. I am doing my Nitrox in two weeks just as a extra safety measure for the marathon diving that apparently I'm in store for.

 

[tflaris]

I'm novice - going on a trip to Bonaire for a week with a group in a few months. I have the option to do AOW there and have some questions.

1) Should I consider it or get more experience there and then maybe next time?

2) From what I can see - there really is no academic part. I guess you just buy the Adventures in Diving manual and do the dives - is that correct?

NAUI and SSI have classroom/Academic Sessions for AOW or AOW specialities (SSI)

Not sure about other agencies


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[Garth]

More dives with advice is good. More experience is also good. The Problem is bad advice and poor practice is not. Good luck on what you decide to do but I would do local with someone you know.

 

[galvanni]

It would essentially be local - the LDS that did my OW. That's kind of where the trip came about - and my OW instructor is going too. I trust this instructor 100% - I felt extremely comfortable with the OW experience. They are quite far for me to drive to a lot - hence why I did the OW online. The checkout dives were actually closer to me than they were.

 

[KY_BOB]

I took a couple of classes in Bonaire. I felt like they cut into my "fun" dive time. If possible, you might want to consider getting a few dives under your belt and taking it before your trip.